Happily Ever After
by The Reader Who Became A Writer
Summary: A Lunar Chronicles fic, set after Winter. Join the Rampion Crew as they live their life in peace (finally!) and laugh along with them as they discover the meaning of life and love. I do not own the Lunar Chronicles, all credit goes to Marissa Meyer.
1. Can't wait to get married

"No! I will absolutely not wear those!" Cinder was gesturing to a pair of 6 inch high heels that were lying in a heap of discarded shoes, all of them equally as tall.

"But-"

"No."

"Cinder!"

"Iko!" Cinder mimicked. "I'd rather not trip on my wedding day, please."

"But imagine." Iko was staring at the wall, lost in her dream world of wedding plans, wedding plans, more wedding plans, romance, and Kaider. "You'll be the envy of all, with those glamorous beauties. Plus they match with your dress."

"Oh, definitely. Like I'm not stalked by reporters and screaming children every spare moment."

"Please?" Cinder sighed. There was no getting out of this.

"Fine. I'll wear them." Iko squealed.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou! Promise you won't trip!" Cinder left the room as Iko did her happy dance, shaking her head amusedly. She walked toward her room, snuggling into her grey hoodie. Yes, that hoodie. Cinder wouldn't go anywhere without it, as it reminded her of Kai. She thought back to that day. If anyone had told her she'd be Kai's fiancée, soon-to-be empress of the Commonwealth, and former Lunar queen, she'd have said they needed to be checked into a mental hospital. She stopped at the entrance to the ballroom, tracing her hand over the elaborate engravings in the door. Fate had been kind to her, and she was very much grateful for that. She pushed the door open, heading for the gardens and saw a familiar figure leaning against a column, staring at the sunset.

"Kai?" He turned.

"Cinder?" She joined him at the wall, lacing her fingers with his. He shivered.

"Sorry." She had forgotten her cyborg hand would be cold. She made to withdraw her hand, but he stopped her, taking it in both hands and pressing it to his heart.

"I love you." He smiled at her with those sinful dimples. "And I can't wait to marry you." She kissed him in response, full to the brim with happiness and love. She knew she'd have to get back to Iko, to finish planning, but she didn't care. They stayed there for a long time, until Iko started spam comming her. Cinder gave a frustrated groan, blinking the comms away.

"Iko?" Kai asked knowingly.

"Yeah. We haven't finished yet."

"Well then you better go…." She shook her head at him, loath to leave the circle of his arms.

"Go. I'll see you again." He knew her too well.

"Iko won't let me." He smirked.

"I have my ways. Don't underestimate the power of a former escapee. From paparazzi no less." She gave him one last kiss.

"Wait for me at the altar?"

"Always."


	2. Nerves

Thorne was pacing back and forth in the room he shared with Cress, given to them for the duration of their stay at New Beijing Palace for Kai and Cinder's wedding. He looked at the velvet box in his hand. Such a small box, almost disappearing in his hand which was gigantic by comparison. He couldn't stop worrying about it.

"How are you feeling?" Kai asked from the open doorway. "Scratch that. You're clearly nervous. And here I was thinking the great Captain Carswell Thorne was as smooth as peanut butter." Thorne set the box down, too stressed to even crack a smile.

"Wow, you really are nervous." He held up an imaginary microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news. Carswell Thorne is actually scared! Over a girl, no less!"

"Yeah well, Cress isn't just any girl," Thorne replied. "She's the girl. And I'm gonna screw this up, and she'll hate me, and I'll lose her, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop right there. Cress loves you. And she's never not going to love you. Ever." Kai walked across the room to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "So there's no need at all to beat yourself up this much. As your emperor, I order you to smile." Thorne just looked at him incredulously.

"Come on, smile. You need to act normal if you want to keep Cress from getting suspicious." Thorne gave what was probably the most pathetic smile in existence.

"There you go! Now it just needs to be a lot better." He checked his watch.

"It's almost time for the rehearsal dinner. We'd better go now, or Iko will murder us and I'd rather be married before I die." Thorne chuckled this time.

"I reciprocate the sentiment. Let's go." As they went to the dining hall, Thorne stopped Kai for a moment, wanting to clear a doubt.

"She'll like it, right?"

"Oh my stars. I am not going into this again," Kai groaned, forcing them to continue walking.

"But she'll say yes, right?" Kai shook his head. Thorne was clearly having a panic attack, one which was completely unnecessary in his opinion.

"Yes, Thorne. She'll say yes." Thorne smiled for real.

"Thanks Kai. I know putting up with my nonsense must be terrible."

"Like you wouldn't believe." Kai paused before he pushed open the doors to the dining hall.

"Good luck." Then he left Thorne outside to collect his thoughts.

"Okay. I can do this." Thorne straightened his jacket lapels and strode through the entrance. Tomorrow, he would propose to the love of his life.


	3. Meant To Be

Cinder was in her bed, smiling softly as she twisted her engagement ring. In less than ten hours, she would be married to Kai. She wanted those ten hours gone, of course, but she was a little nervous. What if she wasn't good enough? What if she was a terrible Empress? What if she disappointed Kai? He loved her, but would she prove she deserved that love?

Quiet knocking distracted her from her worries. She got up and opened the door. Kai stood outside, smirking as he crossed the threshold.

"Told you I'd see you again."

Cinder grinned.

"I never doubted you."

She closed the door and they both sat on the bed.

"So how did you make it here without Iko noticing?" she asked. "She swore she'd keep you out even if it meant patrolling outside my room all night. Some second era superstition about getting bad luck if the groom sees the bride the night before the wedding."

"Honestly, it was harder than sneaking past the guards. It's like Iko has eyes on the back of her head. It was only the sympathies of a guard who let me hide behind him that I was spared from death." He shuddered.

Cinder kissed him.

"All that just to see me?"

He kissed her back.

"Who else?"

She flung her arms around his neck, pressing them both against the bed with her on top. Kai touched her cheek.

"I take it, my efforts are appreciated?"

"No, I just tackled you for no reason." He flipped them over.

"Really? So I shouldn't have come?" He made to withdraw from her, but she pulled him back.

"I think actions speak more than words right now." She pulled his lips down to hers. He complied, more than willing, and she was so happy it hurt. How had the most amazing, handsome, sweet, and kind man in the entire galaxy fallen for her? Her, a lost little cyborg with too many complicated problems? And yet, he had put his faith in her, for himself and his country.

She broke away from the kiss, leaning back to see him. He was beautiful, with his face flushed and eyes shining down at her. She didn't deserve him.

"What's wrong?" asked Kai, scanning her face. Cinder sat up, pushing him off her in the process.

"I just…" she trailed off. "What if this isn't the best idea?"

He looked down at his hands.

"Do you not want to marry me anymore?" he said in a small voice.

"No! Stars no! I want to marry you more than anything else." She took his face in her hands, and he covered them with his own.

"Then what is it?"

She was the one to look away this time, dropping her hands, though Kai kept his where they were.

"You've put so much faith in me, Kai. What if that faith is misplaced?"

"Hey," he said. "Look at me."

Cinder reluctantly obeyed.

"My faith is perfectly fine where it is. There's nothing you can't do. I mean, how many people can say they've saved the galaxy? You're a former queen, Cinder!"

"Yeah, but I couldn't have done it without all the help I had," she argued.

"And do you know why you had that help? Because you inspired us. You made us realize why we had to fight. Without you, the Earthen Union would have been destroyed."

"Now you're just exaggerating. I did what we all had to do and nothing more."

He shook his head.

"Aces, Cinder. You're so oblivious sometimes."

She shrugged.

"You're the one being unreasonable. But I guess what I really want to know is… Why me? I mean, you could have had anyone you wanted."

"Out of everyone in this galaxy, I chose you, Cinder. And I'll always choose you, every single time."

She melted, feeling the fire of his love warm her to the bones. She leaned forward and captured his lips with hers. The kiss felt like a thousand fireworks were going off inside her, and she knew she wouldn't have traded anything in the galaxy for this.


	4. The Morning Of

Kai jolted up, springing from the bed and sprawling on the floor in a very un-royal way. He glared at the three idiots who had woken him up by blaring an air horn straight into his ear. He winced at the memory, climbing to his feet as Thorne, Wolf, and Jacin laughed at him.

"Oh my s-stars," Thorne said, wiping a tear as he continued to roll around on the floor. "That was hilarious. Pranking you is so much fun."

"Yeah," Wolf added. "Look, Jacin's actually showing emotion!"

"Ha, ha." Jacin rolled his eyes. "Forgive me for not wanting to act like a nitwit." He looked pointedly in Thorne's direction.

"Wait, are you calling me a nitwit?" Thorne asked.

"Yes."

Before they could start arguing, Kai interrupted.

"That still doesn't explain why you decided to give me a heart attack the morning of my wedding! You could have woken me up like normal people, and anyway I already had an alarm set." He looked at the clock on the wall.

"It's two hours before I'm supposed to be up! And there's no way I can go back to sleep now."

Wolf shrugged.

"Sorry Kai, but Iko found out that you went to Cinder's room last night, and she hired us to punish you."

"How in the world-No, you know what, I don't want to know," he interrupted himself. "I should ask Iko to become a spy. She'd definitely enjoy it."

"I think that would make it worse," Jacin observed.

You're forgetting the real thing here," Thorne interjected, waggling his eyebrows. "He went to Cinder's room last night."

Jacin snickered along with him as Wolf hurriedly pushed them out the room before Kai jumped on them, failing to hide a smile of his own.

"We'll wait for you in the dining hall!" he called as he shut the door. Kai shook his head as he heard them howling in the hall. He spotted a picture of him and Cinder and smiled. Today was the day when they would be able to announce to the world that he was hers and she was his. He remembered the fateful day he had married Levana. Today would erase that day forever and replace it with memories of love and laughter.

He couldn't wait.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head," Cress called as she pulled the blinds apart. She gently shook Cinder's shoulder. "Come on, it's your wedding day!"

Her wedding day. She smiled sleepily at the memory of last night, Kai and her staying up late talking, with Kai sneaking back to his rooms at early morning in fear of Iko catching them if they fell asleep. She felt herself drifting back to sleep when Iko jumped on the bed and shouted in her ear.

"Wake up, it's your big day! So many things to do!"

Cinder clamped her hands over her ears, turning the volume down.

"Oh no you don't," Scarlet appeared before her, yanking her hands away. "You're getting up right now and turn your volume back up."

She obeyed, sitting up on her bed with her friends around her.

"Are you excited?" Cress asked.

"I want to fast forward the next few hours," Cinder admitted.

"Well I'm excited!" Iko added. "Though I'm also worried. We need to do the decoration, check the food, get you and Kai ready, the ceremony has to run smoothly, and I'm probably forgetting about a billion other things to do, and there's so little time, and-"

"Whoa there," Scarlet said. "Slow down. You're not the one getting married, you don't need to stress. Just take deep breaths and calm down."

"Calm down! I need to calm down! I can't calm down! I'm in charge of everything!"

Cinder winced. Iko's voice was getting shriller with every word.

"Why don't you go meet the guys and check on everything together while I get ready? They're definitely in the dining hall, gorging themselves on breakfast. Just comm me if you need anything."

"Okay, but you need to comm me when you're done. You can't see each other before you walk down that aisle. And don't think I don't know about your escapades last night! I am not going to let that happen again."

"I think she gets it, Iko," Cress said, her and Scarlet herding Iko out the door. She winked at Cinder before ducking out and closing the door.

Cinder smiled as she headed into the bathroom, catching a glimpse of a picture of her and Kai, her favorite picture of the two of them. Today would be the day that symbolized their love, the day where it would be strengthened beyond measure.

She couldn't wait.


	5. The Wedding

Tashmi-Priya felt kind of awkward. Here she was, just a wedding planner, and she was sitting with politicians and diplomats at the wedding of the Emperor and soon-to-be Empress of the Eastern Commonwealth. To be sure, she was the royal wedding planner, but it was still a bit surreal. She was glad that this wedding in no way resembled the Emperor's last. This time, it was an occasion of love and peace unlike before when it felt as if they were sending a sacrificial lamb in the form of the Emperor to a den of wolves who would stop at nothing to end him and his country. Luckily, that time was past, and the future would be a much better one. She remembered the advice she had given His Majesty when she had been planning his last wedding. It seemed the former Lunar queen Selene, or Cinder as she had repeatedly asked Priya to call her, had become his peace. The person who grounded him, kept him going. Priya smiled. Yes, the future was going to be wonderful.

The strains of the wedding march started her from her thoughts, as she stood up with everyone else and turned to see Selene walking down the aisle. Dressed in a gorgeous dress in the Commonwealth colors and embroidered with symbols of unity, peace, prosperity, love, and happiness, she was a vision to behold. The dress clung to her until her waist, where it flowed down to the ground with a slight flare to the skirt. Priya remembered the first time Her Majesty had seen it. She had loved it immediately and had even gotten a tad emotional, a rare thing for her.

As Selene reached the pulpit, Kaito sucked in a breath, tears clearly shining in his eyes. Selene looked like she would have been crying already if she could. They both stood in front of Prime Minister Kamin, who had been chosen once again to officiate the ceremony.

"You may be seated," she said to the people assembled.

Priya sighed. As a wedding planner, she had had a front row seat to countless weddings, some happy, some sad, some filled with drama, some filled with laughter. She knew however, that she would never forget this one. Forgetting the fact that it was a royal wedding, it was the love emanating from the bride and groom, who had found such a special bond, the support coming from those gathered to witness the union, that truly made it the wedding of the era. The wedding that would be the push to open the doors to a new era of joy. She had seen many things in her life that had faded, but she knew this union was one thing that could be counted on to stay bold and bright.


	6. Cresswell

Cress dabbed at her eyes with the tissue Iko handed her, overcome with happiness as her two friends shared the first kiss of many more to come as a married couple. She couldn't be more ecstatic; Kai and Cinder deserved it more than anyone else. She felt and arm around her shoulders and turned to see Thorne standing next to her.

"Captain." She slung an arm around his waist in return, and he took the tissue from her hand and gently wiped the tears off her face.

"Cress. Why are you crying?" She sniffed.

"Because they're so adorable."

Thorne smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"You're adorable." Cress blushed.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Thorne raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure about that?" He leaned into her, pulling her right into him, and started kissing her face. First, he kissed her forehead.

"You're beautiful." Then her nose.

"My heart stops every time I see you." Both cheeks.

"I couldn't have asked for a more sweet and understanding person to be in my life. Scratch that, you are my life."

Cress stood as stiffly as she could, though she couldn't stop slightly leaning into him, her breath hitching. He kissed her neck.

"You're so, so brave and so smart. I don't understand how you ended up with me, but I'm glad you did." Cress melted at his words, glad that everyone was in the reception hall by now, so she and Thorne could have the whole room to themselves. She couldn't take it anymore, and pressed her lips to his with enough force that Thorne almost fell. He righted himself at the last moment, smiling into the kiss. He moved a little away from her while still keeping his lips attached to hers. She tried moving closer to him, her lips turning down in frustration as she attempted to deepen the kiss, but he broke away.

"Didn't you say something earlier? Something like, flattery will get you nowhere," he mimicked in a terrible impression of her voice.

"I did say that," she responded dejectedly. He smirked.

"Exactly."

She pouted at his back as he sauntered away, vowing to get him back.


End file.
